My breath caught in my throat as the last person I wanted to see came into my hospital room.
"Maria." I choked out. My eyes were peeled on her every movement as she sauntered into the room.She wasn't alone.She had a guy with her. someone I hadn't seen before. I glanced at him wearily and she caught my gaze."That's my mate. The one I told you about." A small but cruel smile formed on her face.I ran my eyes over her so-called mate. He was most definitely a werewolf. His build was large and muscular like one, and he had the scent of a werewolf."What the hell, Maria?" I growled, my eyes flickering between her and her mate.Maria did the last thing I would have expected, she giggled."Surprised?" She snickered. "You and your kind deserve what's coming.""Keep her talking, Claire." Sierra snapped. "Killian's out there fighting and Kira won't get here in time. We're on our own."I didn't have the time I needed to process what just happened.Sierra pushed me forward, keeping my legs from collapsing out from under me.I had just killed someone. Someone who tried to kill me, but that didn't change the fact that I had taken a life.I peeled off the hospital gown in haste, and grabbed a random set of scrubs sitting in a basket. The scrubs were baggy on me, but that didn't matter. It was better than running into a fight in a hospital gown.I stumbled out of the hospital room and down the hall, everything around me feeling like a haze."You need to snap out of it." Sierra barked, and I cringed at her hostile tone. "We need to find Killian."That was one thing we agreed on. I didn't care if there was a war going on, I needed to find him and make sure he wouldn't become one of the casualties.I followed the trail of blood that began just outside of my hospital room. My stomach twis
"The only one dying here is you." He spat, and pulled the trigger.Everything felt as though it were moving in slow motion. I could see the bullet heading for my face, spiraling as it planned my death."He's never going to hurt us again." Sierra's voice was clear as a bell.I could feel Sierra take the reigns as I ducked to the side. I could feel the air part around the bullet as it missed me by inches. A look of fury formed on Damien's face as he raised the gun, his aim once again on me. Damien's miscalculation was thinking he was faster than a werewolf. That miscalculation would cost him his life. Just as the small explosion emerged from the gun, I ducked towards the ground and rolled towards him.Damien didn't move in time, and he struggled to stand.Before he could lift his bottom from the ground, a single one of my elongated nails grazed his throat.Not enough to tear it out, but enough to nick his artery.
I forced my eyes open to the sound of my mother yelling my name. My intense hatred for waking up early is known throughout my house, so this happens to be a regular occurrence. Although my eyes are open and I'm awake, I lay in bed and let her continue to yell through the door for a few more moments."Claire, seriously?" I hear my mother's wispy voice snap as she opens my bedroom door. With an annoyed grunt, I lift my head and meet her clear blue eyes with my own.My bright blue eyes were just about the only thing I received from my beautiful but stern mother, while my younger sister seemed to be an exact replica, sporting her slender figure, curly blonde hair, tanned skin, and high cheekbones. 'The good looks in the family' my mother had called it when she thought I wasn't listening. It wasn't that my father was ugly, but he was gruff with an enormous build and a scarred face from defending our pack years ago. While the women in my family had ex
I hadn't realized my mother, father and Sabrina had made their way outside at the sound of the black sedan pulling into the driveway. I could hardly contain my excitement at my brother's return home. I thought fluttering to the forefront of my mind that gave me some semblance of hope; maybe my brother would help me skip this horrid ball. If anyone understood my absolute disliking to the thought of having a mate, it was my brother, Derek. The thought made my stomach flutter with happiness, and my wolf grumble angrily.My wolf, Sierra, only wanted what was best for me. She protected and supported me more than even Derek did, but that doesn't mean we see eye to eye all of the time. Sierra believes it would change my life to have a mate, I happen to agree with her on that front. I know that finding a mate will destroy what bits of me I have stowed away for myself. Having a mate will strip all of that from me and more, and leave me nothing more than some man's play toy and c
I can't say that I absolutely hated the idea of dress shopping with Hazel and Brandon. I'm not overly girly, but every now and again it's nice to feel beautiful. Hazel on the other hand radiated pride when it came to her amazing sense of style and I quickly realized how lucky I was to have her help. Every dress I picked up she seemed to notice some flaw within the piece of fabric. One dress made my eyes look dull, the next dress didn't compliment my skin tone, the next dress made me look boxy. It was a never-ending stream of advice and comments that I couldn't help but be grateful for.Brandon on the other hand seemed to love every dress that I tried on. Each time I stepped out of the dressing room his eyes would roam my body and his typical smirk would play on his face, and each time I rolled my eyes at his usual flirty self."This one is it Claire, I can feel it." Hazel shouted proudly from the dressing room as she slipped on a baby pink, floo
I woke up that morning with a smile on my face. For once I wasn't woken up early from the screaming of Sabrina or my mother. Tonight, was one of the rare nights where I wasn't woken in a panic by my reoccurring nightmare. I'm sure they let me sleep in as I had no choice but to attend the Moon Ball. The thought of the Moon Ball chased my smile away and instantly made me feel as though my world was already crashing down. I gripped the hem of my oversized t-shirt and tried to take a few calming breaths, but nothing helped the knot of unease that had been settling in my stomach. I couldn't place my finger on what was causing this absolute anxiety, but I knew it had to do with this stupid ball.I stayed in bed like this for a few more moments, gripping my t-shirt as if it could save me. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed that I could just sleep through the day, sleep through the ball. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if it was only my pack that attended. I knew no
If I thought it took Hazel forever to get me ready, I hadn't seen anything yet. I sat back on my bed, careful not to ruin Hazel's masterpiece as she so skillfully called it. Hazel and I chatted back and forth about what her future mate would be like. I was a good sport and tried to be supportive of my best friend."He's definitely going to be taller than me, there's no doubt. Oh, I do hope he has blue eyes though! I love a blue-eyed boy." Hazel cooed from the bathroom and I gave a short breathy laugh."I'm sure he's going to be everything you're looking for, he's your mate after all." I shrugged, putting some carefully placed happiness in my voice as I sent a quick text to Brandon.Me -6:02pmYou ready for the ball?Brandon -6:03pmBeen ready. Mom wanted me ready three hours early, don't know what for though.Me -6:04pmHazel attacked me with makeup and a curling iron,
"You are mine." His deep voice announced, growing deeper with each word.I resisted the urge to laugh hysterically and look behind me, as if he were talking to some other girl. If it was any other man, I would have taken off running on the spot. From the cold and detached look in Alpha Killian's eyes, I was afraid he would enjoy the chase far too much. In that moment I sent a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess, asking her what the hell was going on. Not only did I not want a mate, I was given the most dangerous mate in our history.My heart sank to the floor as I realized my story would not have a happy ending.I watched frozen in place as Alpha Killian closed the distance between me and him. He came to a stop a foot in front of me and looked down on me. It was then that I noticed the two men who had followed him all the way over to me. They looked nothing like what I expected the Blood Moon Pack to look like. In all accounts they were attractive men, bu
"The only one dying here is you." He spat, and pulled the trigger.Everything felt as though it were moving in slow motion. I could see the bullet heading for my face, spiraling as it planned my death."He's never going to hurt us again." Sierra's voice was clear as a bell.I could feel Sierra take the reigns as I ducked to the side. I could feel the air part around the bullet as it missed me by inches. A look of fury formed on Damien's face as he raised the gun, his aim once again on me. Damien's miscalculation was thinking he was faster than a werewolf. That miscalculation would cost him his life. Just as the small explosion emerged from the gun, I ducked towards the ground and rolled towards him.Damien didn't move in time, and he struggled to stand.Before he could lift his bottom from the ground, a single one of my elongated nails grazed his throat.Not enough to tear it out, but enough to nick his artery.
I didn't have the time I needed to process what just happened.Sierra pushed me forward, keeping my legs from collapsing out from under me.I had just killed someone. Someone who tried to kill me, but that didn't change the fact that I had taken a life.I peeled off the hospital gown in haste, and grabbed a random set of scrubs sitting in a basket. The scrubs were baggy on me, but that didn't matter. It was better than running into a fight in a hospital gown.I stumbled out of the hospital room and down the hall, everything around me feeling like a haze."You need to snap out of it." Sierra barked, and I cringed at her hostile tone. "We need to find Killian."That was one thing we agreed on. I didn't care if there was a war going on, I needed to find him and make sure he wouldn't become one of the casualties.I followed the trail of blood that began just outside of my hospital room. My stomach twis
My breath caught in my throat as the last person I wanted to see came into my hospital room."Maria." I choked out. My eyes were peeled on her every movement as she sauntered into the room.She wasn't alone.She had a guy with her. someone I hadn't seen before. I glanced at him wearily and she caught my gaze."That's my mate. The one I told you about." A small but cruel smile formed on her face.I ran my eyes over her so-called mate. He was most definitely a werewolf. His build was large and muscular like one, and he had the scent of a werewolf."What the hell, Maria?" I growled, my eyes flickering between her and her mate.Maria did the last thing I would have expected, she giggled."Surprised?" She snickered. "You and your kind deserve what's coming.""Keep her talking, Claire." Sierra snapped. "Killian's out there fighting and Kira won't get here in time. We're on our own."
*Claire's p.o.v*I opened my eyes and cringed against the bright light.I was seriously getting tired of getting hurt, knocked out, or passing out.I knew I was in the hospital when the smell of cleaner and sanitizer filled my nose. Something was stuck in my wrist, irritating my veins.My first reaction was to rip the obstruction away and frantically search for Killian. I was a little upset seeing that he wasn't here, but I knew it had to be something important that took him away."Luna." Someone off to the side called out to me. I ignored them and picked at the IV taped onto my wrist."Luna, leave that in!" An older man's voice called out. His hand grasped my own gently and peeled it away.I looked into the eyes of the man, and had no clue who he was."I'm the pack doctor, Luna." The man said, reading the confusion on my face.My entire body felt sore. My torso radiat
*Killian's p.o.v*"How could she do this?" Travis was at a loss for words. He sat on the floor with Kira's head in his lap.I shook my head. I couldn't focus knowing Claire was lingering between life and death.I felt completely torn. Torn between my duty towards my mate, and my duty towards my pack.Titan desperately wanted to be with Claire at this moment, all reasoning had left him. While I wanted nothing more than to be at our mates side, I needed to find out how this happened.The threat of war lingered over the heads of everyone in this pack, and it was my duty to minimize the damage as best I could.I knew a war was coming. I could feel it in my bones.I had multiple groups of warriors stationed all around the pack perimeters, ready to alert me when the hunters brought the fight to us.I stood from the floor and walked over to the second unconscious body.The ra
*Killian's p.o.v*I knew something was wrong the moment I came into the pack house.Everything looked exactly the same as I left it, and yet something was still picking at me.It was like a hole had begun forming in my chest and I hadn't noticed it yet."Do you smell that?" Titan's voice called out in my head.I lifted my nose to the air and stiffened as the smell of fresh blood registered in my mind.Not just fresh blood; Claire's blood.The night she tried to end her life, the smell of her blood seared itself into my head. I couldn't forget the smell even if I tried. As Claire actively went to therapy and improved, my fear for her life had diminished. She had become happy with me and the life she had finally claimed.Titan's strength and speed slammed into me, and I bolted up the stairs. I couldn't place my finger on what was worse, having Claire kidnapped or smelling
*Claire's p.o.v*I gripped the soft comforter under my fingers and smiled at the wonderful dream I had. In my dream, Killian had found me and had taken me into his arms. His touch melted away the horrific week I had and burned the bad memories from my mind. His lips were pressed against my own and it felt like I had never left his side.My body jolted into a sitting position as my memories flooded through my mind. My heart was hammering and I felt ecstatic. It hadn't been a dream. My eyes darted around at the familiar room. The room Killian and I had shared for so long, the room I had given him my heart, mark and body.His scent filled my nose and the hammering of my heart slowed. I was finally able to focus and jumped as I saw two familiar faces beaming at me.Kira and Maria were grinning so hard I wondered if their faces hurt. A girl I hadn't met before stood at their side, a relieved smile painting her delicate face.
*Killian's p.o.v*Our fast pace came to a halt as we approached the house in the middle of the woods. It was the perfect location for a safe house. Completely off any pack's territory and far enough away from town to subdue any suspicion. Each of us shifted into our human form and slipped on a pair of sweatpants."What would you have us do, Alpha?" The tracker turned and asked. The rest of the men's eyes were on my own.I grimaced at the house only twenty feet away. "Kill them all. If you see Damien, capture him. I want him alive." I growled, mind-linking them an image of Damien I pulled from Claire.I watched as a big man came out into the porch, and I didn't hesitate. I launched myself through the brush and across the yard of the house. The man registered me a moment too late. I felt my nails extend into claws as I shoved them into the man's eye sockets.The man reeked of urine and panic as he struggled to rem
*Claire's p.o.v*"Killian." His name left my lips as I heard the thundering foot steps closed in.My hands gripped the cell bars tightly, waiting for the moment they rounded the corner and I could find the face of my mate.My hope fizzled when a familiar face appeared in front of the rusted bars.The big man from earlier had a cruel sneer on his face."Expecting your mate?" He grinned at me.My stomach was twisting itself into knots. The big man unlocked my cell and I scrambled to get away from him. I needed to stay here and wait for Killian. If they moved me I wasn't sure he'd ever find me or my body if things went south."Get away from me!" I growled, pressing my back against the earthen wall.The big guy sneered, a syringe in his hand. "No can do, mutt. We need to get a move on before your rabid mate gets here."He grabbed me by the shoulder and forced the syringe i